1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of an instrument panel area of a vehicle equipped with a steering column having an impact-absorbing function, and belongs to the field of vehicle safety technology.
2. Description of the Background Art
In an instrument panel area of a vehicle, various instruments, such as a meter unit, are attached to an instrument panel. A steering column is arranged to penetrate through the instrument panel and extend in a rearward direction of the vehicle, and a steering wheel is attached to an interior-side end of the steering column. Further, a column cover is attached to a portion of the steering column located on a rearward side relative to the instrument panel.
The steering column is generally designed to be displaced in a frontward direction of the vehicle in response to an impact load induced by a secondary collision of an occupant against the steering wheel, wherein the steering column is arranged to penetrate through a position below the meter unit on the instrument panel, and the steering cover is disposed to overlap with the meter unit when viewed in an axial direction of the steering column, depending on a type of vehicle. In this case, if the column cover is displaced in the frontward direction of the vehicle together with the steering column, it will be brought into contact with (i.e., hit against) the meter unit, and thereby the steering column is likely to be hindered from its further frontward displacement.
As countermeasures against this problem, for example, JU04-095548A (hereinafter referred to as “Patent Document 1”) discloses a structure comprising a push-up portion provided in a bottom of a meter unit and adapted to receive a knee of an occupant moved frontwardly by an impact load, and respondingly push the meter unit upwardly, so as to avoid interference (contact) between a column cover and the meter unit to allow a frontward displacement of a steering column.
In the structure disclosed in the Patent Document 1, the steering column is positioned to incline downwardly toward a front portion thereof, and adapted to be displaced along an axial direction thereof, i.e., frontwardly and obliquely downwardly. Differently, in some actual vehicles, the steering column is adapted to be displaced frontwardly and approximately horizontally while maintaining the inclined posture thereof. In the latter case, it is necessary to pushingly displace the meter unit up to a fairly high position in order to avoid the interference between the meter unit and the column cover, and such a need is likely to be not satisfied only by an upward displacement based on the push-up portion disclosed in the Patent Document 1. Moreover, even in the former case where the steering column is adapted to be displaced along the axial direction, if an inclination angle of the steering column is relatively small, the problem about the interference between the column cover and the meter unit occurs to a greater or lesser extent.